Riverton Half Marathon

I have been trying to talk my friend Mary into running a marathon with me for years. She always said she wanted to but never thought she could run that far. Boy was she wrong. She is much better than I am. I never claimed to be the fastest runner but I can finish. And that is all that has ever mattered to me.

 We began training before I found out I was pregnant and because I registered for the San Diego Marathon which she won't be able to do, we decided to do the Riverton Half Marathon on March 26th. That morning was soooo cold. The wind was blowing crazily which made it even more cold. I wish I wasn't so huge running this. I have a good 33 extra lbs on me which I never had before running. I didn't get to lose all the weight before getting pregnant again and I was upset about that but at least I could still finish even with the weight making me slower.

Mary stuck by me throughout the race and we were pretty much last. There were only 11 people that finished after us which was awful but oh well. It took us 3 hours, 1 minute, and 58 seconds. 

 The wind taxed a lot of my energy very quickly but I didn't stop running. I ran to the next mile marker and then would walk for just a little bit and run to the next mile. But when we hit the 11th mile I was DONE. I knew I had nothing left in me. I had just finished walking up the third ludicrously steep hill and it wore me out. These hills were so steep I could feel it in my thighs and glutes! I wish they had a rope I could have held onto to pull me up. I ran the next two miles but was running so slowly I might as well have been walking fast. The mojo had left me and I could feel my heart start to hurt a bit. Knowing I was pregnant I knew I needed to take it easy. I turned the corner and saw the finish line but I didn't begin sprinting that last quarter of a mile until I saw my husband and darling baby right there waiting for me! They gave me this unknown strength to just start running as fast as I could.

 

When I got to the runner's only area I quickly grabbed some water but didn't feel the need to eat anything. After all, I ate an energy bar an hour before. But shortly after my calf muscles began seizing and cramping up so bad I leaned against a pole trying to stretch them and holding back my tears. It hurt so bad. Jeff immediately told me that was a sign of dehydration and that my potassium levels were most likely low. Mary grabbed me a banana and I ate that quickly. I just wanted to go home but was scared to get in the car and have them seize up in that tiny space. But Mary helped me stretch them again and then I started to feel better. I got home and realized that with my being pregnant I should be going to the bathroom a lot and I wasn't hardly at all. I knew that was it and that I was in fact dehydrated. I think I drank 6 quarts of Gatorade the rest of the day and finally started peeing normal again. Yikes, lesson learned. I've never had that happen to me before. Baby must be taking what little I was drinking. Well after my second half marathon finished I am onto training for the full marathon in 2 months! Excited and hope little baby will let me get through it!